Getting in the Rhythm

It’s a tough word to spell (so many consonants in a row!) but such an important one for branding AND all things creative – as I was indirectly reminded by Stanley Tucci on Tuesday evening as he was speaking to a packed audience at the Barbican. He was asked by the interviewer about the start to his career as an actor and he mentioned that he was a drummer as a kid (not a very good one he enforced, though I feel like Stanley Tucci is good at EVERYTHING) and he thinks that that is what helped as he grew into a performer and writer. Whether it was drama or comedy, it all needed a rhythm. He said the best screenplays he reads have intentional and purposeful pauses written into them. Even ones that tell you how LONG to pause for. It is this rhythm that creates creative greatness.

I've been thinking about that for a few days now and how it's a huge part of how I design (see, Tucci and I have more in common than just both being American expats in London!). If you've worked with me before on your brand, then you know that I like to create a full branding suite of "stuff" for you. I don't just take your logo and stamp it all over everything in the same way and same place and use the same background colours every time. There is the creation of patterns, and other tiny details like icons, a mix of fonts and colours AND of course, your logo in a few variations. It's this ability to mix and match that gives brands their fabulous rhythm! Also why white space in design (usually the part that clients say "can we fill up that empty bit there?") is crucial and is like the visual equivalent of the pause in music and performance. It's why people hire graphic designers who can think holistically and not just someone who will paste their logo all over everything in a very static way.

Soundtracking Creativity

Speaking of rhythm, music is of course the first creative pursuit that we think of when we hear that word. The above photo was taken at the Ed Sheeran concert back in June that I attended with a friend (also a designer!). We were blown away by the visuals used and even the colour of the lights and the mixture of the fireworks and coloured smoke, all perfectly timed to the music (as if Ed would have it any other way). I loved the way it made you SEE the music, not just HEAR it. 

I mentioned to someone last week that I "soundtrack" my projects very intentionally when I design and she remarked that she had never heard of that before which made me want to share that fun fact. If I'm working on a brand that's really upbeat and joyful, I'll listen to Rihanna. Working on a wedding florist will probably have me listening to Michael Bublé. A textile or interior designer and I'll most likely put on a mix of Haim, Florence & the Machine, and John Legend. Essentially, I'm taking the rhythm of the music and matching it to the 'beat' of the brand.

That's all from me this month, thanks for reading along and have an excellent and rhythmic September!